Whiskey Barrel Planters with Perennials for a Generational Garden
Every Garden Starts Somewhere
Some of our perennial beds began with established plants divided and moved around the Cottage. Others started with a trip home in Little Truck. 💛 A truck bed filled with hostas, daylilies, irises, ferns and other perennial favorites may not look like a finished garden yet—but it holds years of possibilities.
Building the Whiskey Barrel Planters 💛🌿
Whiskey barrel planters with perennials are a beautiful way to add height, color, and interest among established garden beds. Once Little Truck brought our new plants home, it was time to start finding each one a place in the garden. The whiskey barrels gave us a way to add something a little unexpected among the hostas and established perennials along the wooded edge of the yard. We filled and planted each barrel differently, choosing taller plants for the center and surrounding them with smaller blooms and foliage. At first, everything looked a little new and freshly planted—as gardens always do—but that is part of the fun. You plant, water, care for them, and wait to see what they become. These barrels weren’t meant to look perfectly finished on day one. They were another layer being added to a garden that has been growing, changing, and carrying pieces of our family with it for generations. 💛🌿
And Then It Grew… 🌿🌼
Over time, these whiskey barrel planters with perennials became part of the garden itself, surrounded by established hostas and the changing colors of the seasons. One of the most rewarding parts of gardening is watching a newly planted space change as the season unfolds. When we first planted the canna in the whiskey barrel, it was much smaller and just beginning to settle into its new home. With time, sunshine, water, and a little care, it grew to several times its original size, filling the barrel with broad green leaves and producing the most beautiful golden-orange speckled blooms. Surrounded by the hostas that have been growing in this garden for years, the once-new barrel now looks as though it belongs there. These are the moments that make all the digging, planting, watering, and waiting worthwhile—and remind me that a garden is never really finished. It simply keeps growing and changing with us. 💛🌿
Keeping the Weeds Down & Encouraging Beautiful Blooms 🌿🌼
Keeping our whiskey barrel planters with perennials gardens colorful doesn’t mean they’re maintenance-free. I use Preen Garden Weed Preventer Plus Plant Food to help prevent new weeds from taking over while also feeding the plants, but there is still some good old-fashioned hand weeding throughout the season. For the flowering plants, I also use Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster Flower Food during the growing season to encourage strong plants and plenty of beautiful blooms. Along with regular watering and a little hands-on garden care, these are two of the products I return to throughout the season to help keep the barrels, planters, and flower beds around the Cottage looking healthy, colorful, and full. 💛🌿🌼
🌿 Garden Products I Use
- Preen Garden Weed Preventer Plus Plant Food – Helps prevent new weeds from taking over while providing plant food for established flowers and garden beds.
- Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Bloom Booster Flower Food– A water-soluble flower food I use during the growing season to encourage plentiful, beautiful blooms throughout our planters and gardens.
Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer
As an Amazon Associate, Designs By Friends LLC may earn from qualifying purchases. This comes at no additional cost to you. I only share products that I personally use, enjoy, or believe may be helpful to Simple Life Meals readers. Thank you for supporting Simple Life Meals and our Generational Garden Series. 💛🌿
🌿 Making Gardening a Little Easier on the Body
Gardening is something I love, but living with fibromyalgia means I have learned not to do every garden task the hardest way possible. A few simple tools help me reduce bending, lifting, carrying, and unnecessary trips back and forth across the yard. I use a seated rolling garden cart with storage for jobs closer to the ground, giving me a place to sit while keeping small tools nearby. A rolling garden cart is especially helpful for collecting weeds and garden clippings because I can stay more upright as I work instead of repeatedly bending over a wheelbarrow.
For the heavier jobs, the wheelbarrow still earns its keep. That’s what we use for bulky plants, bags of soil, mulch, larger tools, and other heavier garden projects. A good pair of gardening gloves is another must for protecting my hands while planting, pulling weeds, and working around rough soil and wood.
And taking care of myself is just as important as having the right garden tools. On longer or hotter garden days, I keep LMNT electrolytes nearby and pay attention to hydration, breaks, and what my body is telling me. I also have a regular supplement and wellness routine that I share in Mission Leader’s Pantry for anyone interested in the things I personally use to support my everyday routine. These aren’t what make the garden grow—they’re simply some of the things that help make it possible for me to keep doing something I love. 💛🌿
- Seated rolling garden cart with storage
- Upright rolling garden cart/wagon
- Wheelbarrow
- Comfortable gardening gloves
🌿 Explore More from Simple Life Meals
If you enjoyed spending a little time with us in the Generational Garden, there’s plenty more growing around the Cottage. 💛
🌻 Generational Garden Series
Follow along as we share the flowers, plants, garden projects, family memories, and little spaces that make our gardens special.
💛 Heart & Home from the Cottage
Come along for everyday life around the Cottage—from the gardens and front porch to the simple projects and moments that make a house feel like home.
🌿 Fibromyalgia Support
Simple ideas, personal experiences, and everyday adjustments I use while learning to work with my body and continue doing the things I love.
💪 Mission Leader’s Pantry
Take a closer look at the wellness routine, pantry staples, supplements, and everyday supports that have become part of my personal routine.
🐿️ Feathered & Furry Friends
Meet the birds, squirrels, and other backyard visitors who share these gardens with us—and often provide a little entertainment while we work.
🌿 Gardening as a Fibro Warrior
Living with fibromyalgia has changed how I garden, but it hasn’t taken away how much I love doing it. I have learned to work with my body instead of against it—using tools that reduce bending and heavy lifting, taking breaks when I need them, staying hydrated, and paying attention to how much I try to accomplish in one day. I also have a personal wellness and supplement routine that has become part of how I prepare for and recover from physically demanding days around the Cottage. I share the things I personally use, along with the reasons they have become part of my routine, in [Mission Leader’s Pantry]. For me, gardening with fibromyalgia isn’t about doing everything the way I once did. It’s about finding simpler ways to keep doing something that brings me so much joy. 💛🌿
From My Garden to Yours 💛🌿
A garden is never truly finished. It grows, changes, surprises us, and sometimes teaches us to slow down and simply enjoy what is blooming today. From the plants brought home in Little Truck to the whiskey barrels tucked among generations of hostas, every little corner of our garden holds a story—and there are still so many more to share.
Whether you’re creating whiskey barrel planters with perennials or adding color with smaller containers around your home, I hope our Generational Garden inspires you to make your outdoor spaces your own. 💛🌿
Happy Gardening! 💛🌻🌸
Love,
Shelia
Stay Connected 💛
Visit us on social media, save our page for later, or contact us—we’d love to stay connected!
Follow Simple Life Meals on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & TikTok for recipes, cottage life, gardening, Feathered & Furry Friends, fibromyalgia support, and more. 💛
Save Simple Life Meals for later or get in touch with us anytime.